Ms-optics APOQUALIA 3.5/50
Review of using the APOQUALIA-H 50mm F3.5 (MS-Optics / Miyazaki kogaku) with a Leica M-type digital camera.
Table of contents
Gallery
APOQUALIA 50mm F3.5 Photo example (with Leica M8.2 or EPSON R-D1xG)
Impression
The first lens released by Ms-optics (Miyazaki Kogaku) was an ambitious 50mm / F1.3 lens that appealed to large-aperture enthusiasts, and I remember a camera shop owner who sold this lens lamenting, “This is a spec that won’t sell well. I remember that the father of the camera shop who sold this lens lamented, “This is a spec that won’t sell well.
However, because it is not a bright lens at f/3.5, it produces sharp images from the maximum aperture, and the bokeh in the front and rear is beautiful. It is a lightweight and compact lens, suitable for snapshots.
The lens type of the first generation was the Sonar type, and this one is the Helia type.
Around the same time, COSINA released a lens with the same specifications as the Helia type lens under the FOCTLENDER brand to commemorate the 101st anniversary of the Helia, which may or may not be a coincidence, but I think it is an interesting coincidence.
COSINA continued to develop the Heria-type lenses with larger apertures, releasing the Heria 50mm/F2, and although the lens configuration has changed to 6 elements in 3 groups, they have released a lens with a larger aperture up to F1.5 under the Heria brand.


Specification
The second of Ms-optics (Miyazaki Kogaku) original lenses, this 50mm standard lens uses the Helia type lens format.
It is APOQUALIA brand, but is not as bright as the lenses released after this one.
The name MS-MODE-AH (which is thought to stand for APO-HELIAR) is also engraved on the nameplate.
Item | Value | note |
focal length(mm) | 51.6 | |
Maximum aperture | 3.5 | |
Minimum aperture | 22 | |
Lens configuration | 3groups 5elements | Heliar-type |
Leaf blade | 10 | |
Minimum distance(m) | 0.8 | |
Lens length(mm) | 38 | Distance form mount frange |
Lens max diameter(mm) | 49 | |
Filter diameter(mm) | 30.5 | |
Weight(g) | 105 | with L/M mount adapter |
Release date | Year 2010 | |
List price(Yen) | 65,000 |
Comparison with Competitive Lenses
Manufacture | Ms-optics | voigtlander | voigtlander | voigtlander |
Name | APOQUALIA | HELIAR 50mm F3.5 | HELIARclassic 50mm F2 VM | HELAIR classic 50mm F1.5 VM |
Apature | 3.5 | 3.5 | 2 | 1.5 |
Leaf blade | 12 | 10 | 10 | 10 |
Construction | 3群5枚 | 3群5枚 | 3群5枚 | 3群6枚 |
Min distance(m) | 0.7 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 0.5 |
Lens length(mm) | 38 | 43.2 | – | 41.9 |
Filter(mm) | 19 | 27 | 40.5 | 49 |
Weight(g) | 105 | 147 | 260 | 255 |
Reference links
- Heliar Wiki(Japanese)
- Heliar wiki(Deutsch)